Archive for year: 2013

After 32 years at the Harvey, Bill will be retiring at Christmas, and will speak at the Dinner to reminisce and reflect on his time at the School.

Join your friends, contemporaries and other Old Harveians at this year’s Dinner. The School will be open from 6.30 pm for you to explore. Dine in comfort, and socialise before and after the meal. There will be a well-stocked bar with a good selection of wines to complement your meal.

We are anticipating another really good turn-out, so be sure of a place by ordering your ticket(s) right away

We hope for a particularly good attendance from those who joined the School 50 years ago in 1963 and 25 years ago in 1988

All those who attended the Annual Prizegiving at the Leas Cliff Hall could be in no doubt that the Harvey is in excellent shape. An event that is never less than highly impressive was, even by its own high standards, a wonderful snapshot of remarkable achievements by the current generation of Harveians.

John Dennis’s tenure as Chairman of Governors has been characterised by a real feel for what the Harvey stands for, what it represents in the community, and what it means to those who have worked and learnt there. As usual, he presided over Prizegiving with considerable skill.

Bill Wright’s swansong report of the School’s activities painted a comprehensive picture of individual and collective achievement – record exam results, sporting success, trips and tours… and so on. A truly amazing year for the School.

The warmth of the occasion was emphasised when the guest speaker, Reverend Anthony Buckley, spoke in such positive terms about the Harvey. As a former parents and Vice-Chairman of Governors, he knows the School well. It was typical of him to highlight the importance of valuing every pupil as a special individual – one of the Harvey’s unique qualities.

And then, as is customary, we heard from the Head Boy. His role is to propose a vote of thanks to the guest speaker, and to reflect on his time at the School. Over the years, successive Head Boys have entertained us with a maturity beyond their years, but never before have we been treated to such a barnstorming (to use John Dennis’s description) speech as that delivered on this occasion by Harry Stevens.

Having been friends with Harry’s father Nick since we were at school together in Dover, I know how proud he is (and rightly so) of Harry’s achievements. It is difficult to believe that it is seven years ago when he told me that Harry had been offered a place at the Harvey. At tea in the Leas Cliff Hall after prizegiving, he told me that Harry’s speech spoke for the whole family, who are delighted with the education that Harry has received at the Harvey, which has culminated in him being given an offer to read English at Cambridge. As staff will readily testify, he is a highly impressive young man.

Harry’s speech is reproduced here in full – for all to appreciate:

I must start by apologising to many of you, because what I intend to say is actually directed to a specific group among you: the younger members of the school, those at the opposite end of the school to my friends and I.

Though I am a long, long way down the list of people qualified to give advice in this hall, if I have any knowledge to impart it is to that group of young men – since they are at the beginning of a process and a journey which my friends and I are approaching the end of.

I must add, that if I say anything of any value, if I offer those young men anything which helps them in any way – I in turn learnt that at this institution, I was taught it by my teachers and my schoolmates combined, to whom I am unspeakably indebted, in a way that I will never be able to convey fully.

I start by telling those young men: never make the mistake of assuming the distance between you and I is long. It is not. The next few years will happen quickly, you will change rapidly and you will change significantly. Do not fear this. Embrace the brevity of your adolescence.

As Roger Walters so brilliantly identified once, young people are often made to believe that education and adolescence are about preparing for a life which is going to start later – after school, after university. This is not true. Shun anyone who tries to make you believe that. Your life is happening now, it has been happening for years and you must take responsibility for it.

Take risks and break rules. I’ve learnt that there is nothing wrong with breaking rules – so long as you break the right rules at the right time. Believe me, you will certainly know about it if you get your timing wrong.

Avoid arrogance – it is the one of the most vile human traits. Never believe your own hype. There are very few people in this world who can get away with being arrogant – assume that you are not one of them.

Attend as many of those joint discos with the Folkestone Girls School as possible. Girls are considerably easier to understand at your age now than they will be in couple of years. My advice to you lads is: get on their good side early.

Throughout your education, the government will bombard you with disgusting and unhelpful little phrases such as “job-market”, “employability”, “transferable skills”. Ignore them all, they are of no use to you. Focus on nothing but the cultivation of your own character. I live in faith, as should you, that the rest will follow.

When writing an essay, it always helps to get the title right. A special mention here goes to my friend, who, upon handing in an English Literature essay had his knowledge of the texts questioned by our teacher, thusly: “It just seems like you haven’t even read the novel – it’s called ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ not ‘How To Kill A Mockingbird’.”

The most important choices you will make in your time here are those between instant gratification and gratification in a week, a month, a year’s time. You are absolutely right choose either way at different times, but it is true that gratification that you wait for and that you earn is far more valuable.

Never be afraid to contradict yourself. Be a paradox, be ironic. I can’t tell you how much I love these lines from Walt Whitman:

“Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)”

Changing your opinions is the best part of learning. People afraid to contradict themselves become one-dimensional.

Learn for the sake of learning, treat all knowledge with caution and understand what a huge task the pursuit of knowledge is – answers easily obtained are answers easily discarded.

Know your town. Know its virtues and its many limitations. About 100 years ago someone asked the first ever headmaster of Stowe School in Buckinghamshire what the purpose of his school was and he answered: “To turn out boys who will be acceptable at a dance and invaluable in a shipwreck.”

Now I don’t think that applies to Folkestone, not least because anyone who’s been down the Parisian nightclub will know that a dance and shipwreck can actually be the same thing.

Shun anyone who patronises you. Don’t allow people to tell you that you are unable to understand certain things because of your age.

But never take yourself too seriously and if you must do so, do so in private – there are few less attractive things than one who takes themself too seriously in public.

To this end, being a terrible footballer should not prevent you from playing football. It certainly never stopped me.

Some will tell you to ignore what others think of you. That is ridiculous. Always be aware of how others perceive you, but just never become dependent on the opinions of others. Never measure yourself solely in the mirrors of other men.

Be dissatisfied with yourself more readily than you are proud of yourself. Dissatisfaction is a vastly more useful emotion than pride. Pride will make you stand still, dissatisfaction moves you on.

Use each other. Your classmates are a far more useful resource to you than any textbook ever will be. Stephen Fry is right when he says that education, to some degree at least, happens when students talk to each other between lessons. Find a balance between supporting one another and competing against one another – this way everyone will go further.

And finally, understand that many things over the next few years will be out of your control. I can tell you with certainty that the only thing you can maintain control over in the next seven years is your own character. People talk about things being against young people and you might think many things are against you. It may well be that the national education system you are experiencing has flaws, it may well be that examinations do not represent you in the way you think you are best represented, it may well be that society will view you incorrectly and not always offer you what you deserve – but never become one of those useless people who are prepared to use that as an excuse.

We go to a remarkable school. I am convinced that it is as good as any other. I, truly, have nothing but praise and gratitude for this institution and the thing I am most grateful for is that this school taught me that yes the education system – like all things – may not be perfect; yes organisations and procedures will risk impeding you; yes this small corner of the world feels, at times, oppressive – but everyone who comes here has the opportunity not to be limited by that.

Indeed, why this school is different to so many others, this school’s superior achievement in my view, is that it said to me and it said to my friends and it will say to all of you (to use someone else’s words, not my own, with which I end): “the system might fail you, but don’t fail yourself.

“Shipwrecked at the Parisian” – that will bring back memories for many! I am sure that we have not heard the last of Harry Stevens. Knowing Scott Norman as I do, I am equally sure that, as he looks forward to taking up the reins of Headship in January, he will have made a mental note that a future Prizegiving with Harry Stevens as guest speaker will be another treat for us all.

Patricia Kennedy (nee Collins – ex-student and former teacher at Folkestone School for Girls) is organising another Old Girls Dinner at Eastwell Manor Hotel on May 11th and all Old Harveians are very welcome to enjoy the evening – wives / partners / boyfriends welcome.

Two previous dinners have been very successful, with several Old Harveians enjoying the evening with their ex-FSG wives.

Old Harveian Ben Cowell has taken the reins of the country’s leading conservation charity in the East. Ben, who was most recently in charge of the charity’s policy and external affairs work, has returned to his roots to lead a team of over 500 staff and 5,000 volunteers.

Ben said; “I am delighted to be taking up this role, which is easily the best job in the National Trust! I have loved the people and landscapes of the East of England for as long as I can remember. After leaving The Harvey, I studied as an undergraduate at UEA in Norwich, where I specialised in landscape archaeology at the Centre of East Anglian Studies. I now live just outside Saffron Walden in Essex, with my wife Julie and our two boys, Reuben and Toby.”
“The National Trust looks after wonderful places, wildlife, collections, community spaces and heritage for the benefit of everyone. Here in the East that includes miles of glorious coastline from Blakeney in North Norfolk to Orford Ness on the Suffolk coast, important houses like Blickling, Ickworth and Wimpole, and really special countryside including one of the nation’s most ancient woodlands at Hatfield Forest in Essex.”

For many years Ben was a civil servant at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in London, before joining the National Trust’s external affairs team in 2008. Prior to attending the Harvey, Ben was at All Souls’ Primary school in Cheriton. His parents (father David was a school governor at Harvey) live in Sandgate.

http://oldharveians.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ohaheaderlogo1.jpg00Phil Hardinghttp://oldharveians.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ohaheaderlogo1.jpgPhil Harding2013-03-22 10:27:352013-04-05 11:26:30National Trust welcomes new leader in the East

We were very sorry to learn of the death of John Hine (57-63) following a motorcycle accident in New Zealand. His friend and executor Dr Philip Stimpson very kindly provided the following obituary.

“John Hine attended the Harvey from 1957 to 1963 before going on to Bristol University and a career in accountancy. At Bristol he gained a 2.1 in Economics and Accountancy. While at Bristol he lived in the Holmes, a town mansion in the grounds of Churchill Hall of residence. The friends he made in the snooker room and on the croquet lawn of the Holmes and in the Berkeley coffee rooms have remained with him throughout his life. Following Articles at a firm in Canterbury he joined KPMG in the City of London where he worked for more than 30 years as a tax expert. During this time he developed a delight in steam railways and model railways ultimately filling his loft in Stoke D’Abernon with a working model of Dover Priory station. His other great passion was in motorcycling and, in particular after taking early retirement, in touring far away places. With groups of friends he visited Russia, North America, S Africa, Chile and Argentina not to mention most countries in Europe. Sadly, but doing what he loved, it was on one of those trips he died on 3rd of February in New Zealand following a motor accident. A few years ago he led a group of his friends to East Kent and took great pleasure in showing us around places in Dover and Folkestone that meant much to him. A lifelong bachelor he had no close surviving relations; his friends were his family. He will be remembered for happy dinners and good wine but most of all as a loyal friend who you could come to at a time of need.”

John was cremated in New Zealand but there will be a memorial service on Saturday 20th April at 12.30 at St Mary’s Church Stoke D’Abernon, Cobham, Surrey. The church is about 1km from the station. There will hopefully be light refreshment afterwards in the church hall.

OHA member Nico Jackson has hit the headlines after accompanying Pippa Middleton to the holiday island of Mustique. Nico, who joined the Harvey in 1989 from Stella Maris Primary School, is the son of Martyn Jackson, who is one of the famous 59ers group of Old Harveians.

After leaving the Harvey is 1986 with excellent A levels, Nico graduated from university and subsequently became a stockbroker with Deutsche Bank, for whom he currently works. At school, Nico was also a talented sportsman, who represented the Harvey at football, cricket and tennis.

Our Secretary Phil Harding remembers him well as a member of the squad on the USA Football Tour in 1995, and has been back through the archives to discover some photos of Nico from that trip.

The Old Harveians’ Association is delighted that one of our members, Scott Norman, has been appointed by the School’s Governing Body to be the next Principal (AKA Headmaster) of The Harvey. Scott, who is the first former pupil to take up the School’s top leadership role, will commence his new post on 1st January 2014, when Bill Wright retires.

He joined the School as an 11 year-old in September 1985 and, during his seven years at The Harvey, made his mark as a talented sportsman and musician. As a member of a very talented year group on the sportsfields, Scott excelled as an all-round cricketer whose runs and wickets contributed hugely to Kent cup successes and other triumphs. As a footballer, Scott spent much of his time in goal, occasionally displaying his talents elsewhere. In music, Scott performed in the “Prophets of Pop” band.

After university, Scott rejoined The Harvey as a teacher of History and Politics, quickly earning the respect of pupils and colleagues alike. With the exception of a few months “on loan” to The Marsh Academy, Scott has spent his entire teaching career at the Harvey and, in congratulating him on his appointment, the OHA wish him every success for the future, and look forward to working with him for the benefit of Harveians past, present and future.